TKR Shin "splints"? /shin pain, post op.

Ruthetta

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Hello fellow TKRs!


IMG_20200708_102220931_MP.jpg

I had my left knee replaced 6/22/2020 (just over 1 month ago), as soon as the hospitals in upstate NY were once again allowed to perform such due to Covid19.
I've been working toward having this done for 2 years, dealing with setbacks due to a blood mutation from inception to present.

I'm so grateful to now be post-op . My PT & John's Hopkins progression models say I'm about 2 weeks ahead of average patient progress & my knee itself feels better than I can remember however, I'm experiencing pain mid calf/shin level (feels like in my bone) down to my ankle. I worry about that rod in my tibia! Can anyone here speak to this?
 
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@Ruthetta Welcome to BoneSmart and the other side of surgery! What you are describing sounds like normal post op pain. You only a month out of very major surgery.

What is your activity level now? Are you doing any exercises?

I'll leave our recovery guidelines here for you:
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary

2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this Activity progression for TKRs

6. Access these pages on the website

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
@Ruthetta
Welcome to BoneSmart glad you joined us! :welome:

I'm experiencing pain mid calf/shin level (feels like in my bone) down to my ankle. I worry about that rod in my tibia! Can anyone here speak to this?
You have a short stem, most likely it is not causing your shin pain.
Your shin pain may be due to the way you are walking. Call and ask your PT about the shin pain, and for gait training to help with your walking.
The shin pain should resolve as you heal.
 
I'm up tonight with the same pain. I'm about a week ahead of you, (RTKR 6/16/2020) so we are pretty close. I definitely over did the walking around today. Ice, elevation, medication, and some tv binging are about all I can do tonight.
 
Hello fellow TKRs!


IMG_20200708_102220931_MP.jpg

I had my left knee replaced 6/22/2020 (just over 1 month ago), as soon as the hospitals in upstate NY were once again allowed to perform such due to Covid19.
I've been working toward having this done for 2 years, dealing with setbacks due to a blood mutation from inception to present.

I'm so grateful to now be post-op . My PT & John's Hopkins progression models say I'm about 2 weeks ahead of average patient progress & my knee itself feels better than I can remember however, I'm experiencing pain mid calf/shin level (feels like in my bone) down to my ankle. I worry about that rod in my tibia! Can anyone here speak to this?
Hi @Ruthetta
I had bilateral TKR on 7/6/20 and I’m also having a lot of calf and shin pain that radiates down to my ankle in my right leg. My left leg feels great - no pain like that at all.

How long did it take for your shin/calf pain to resolve? Did you find anything (like stretches, or propping your leg a certain way, or icing, or pain meds) that helped your shin/calf pain feel better?
 
I had shin splints, painful aren't they! My physio took one look at me as I walked into the office and said I wasn't walking properly. He said make sure I put my heel down first and roll onto the front of my foot. I was doing the opposite!
The reasoning is that by walking on the front of the foot, the shin muscles, which aren't big and strong, were taking all my weight for quite a time. They aren't used to that, and they complain!
Two days later, the splints had gone.
 
I had shin splints, painful aren't they! My physio took one look at me as I walked into the office and said I wasn't walking properly. He said make sure I put my heel down first and roll onto the front of my foot. I was doing the opposite!
The reasoning is that by walking on the front of the foot, the shin muscles, which aren't big and strong, were taking all my weight for quite a time. They aren't used to that, and they complain!
Two days later, the splints had gone.
I will focus on heel first. Hopefully it will help because the pain and aggravation is driving me crazy!
 
Good luck, but don't forget to roll forward fully onto your big toes, or you might get other issues.
It might be helpful to get a critical friend to watch you and give helpful comments on your gait. My wife was brilliant at spotting what I was doing wrong.
I reckon the physios should support us with this, but they seem to prefer talking codswallop about our knees setting like concrete.

Nature has spent millions of years developing our joints, we can't change, evolve and adapt in a few short months
 

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